


Stuck With You

by ilsafausts (phoenix_cry)



Category: Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Claustrophobia, F/M, Fluff and Humor, I can't stop writing fics about these idiots, Stuck in a cave, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, and i hate coming up with titles, i'm terribly sorry, just a really tiny amount, somebody make me stop, this is the worst one yet, y'all gotta be sick of me by now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 23:24:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15593091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenix_cry/pseuds/ilsafausts
Summary: “I can’t believe we are stuck in here!”“Don’t look at me, this is not my fault!”orIlsa and Benji get stuck in a cave.





	Stuck With You

“I can’t _believe_ we are stuck in here!”

“Don’t look at me, this is not _my_ fault!”

Ilsa shot Benji a withering glare, hoping he could make it out in the dim light provided by their single flashlight. “What do you mean _this isn’t your fault_?!” She gestured back to the wall of rubble that separated the tiny cave, they were currently residing in, from the rest of the world. “It was you who tripped over the _bloody tripwire_!”

“It’s not my fault I can’t see in the dark! I’m not Batman, for Christ’s sake!”

“ _Guys, it’s okay. We’re gonna get you out of there. Calm down. No need to throttle each other._ ” Ethan’s voice filtered in over the commlink in their ears.

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not stuck in here,” Ilsa grumbled, the situation putting her in a decidedly bad mood. Let’s just say she wasn’t too wild about tiny, enclosed spaces.

“ _And you won’t be for too much longer, either. Just take a deep breath, it’s gonna be fine._ ”

“Stop patronizing me, Ethan, it’s not endearing at all.”

“ _Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am._ ” She could swear there was a slight chuckle in his voice.

She growled.

“Please, please, _please_ just get us out of here, or I think she’s gonna kill me. I am fearing for my life, guys!” Benji stared at her with wide eyes, while apparently honestly pleading with his friends to save him. If she hadn’t been so angry, she’d probably have thought it was funny. She liked putting the fear of God into men’s hearts.

The ones who deserved it, anyway.

Deciding to back off her friend for a bit, she carefully felt her way over to the nearest wall and sat down, leaning with her back against it. No use in wasting precious energy. Might as well grab the opportunity to take a quick power nap - if she could take her mind off being trapped in a tiny, dark cave.

Uttering a resigned sigh, she tried to ignore the conversation the rest of her team was leading and concentrated on slowing her racing heart.

It was working, too, until Benji whispered, rather loudly, “It’s okay, guys, I think she’s….meditating?”

Ilsa grunted and opened one eye to give him another glare, making him squeak.

This time, she actually laughed.

“ _Stop scaring the poor guy half to death, Ilsa._ ”

“But it’s the only form of entertainment I’ve got in here,” she quipped back at their fearless leader.

“You know, as much as I am usually grossed out by it, I’d much prefer your flirting over you trying to kill me with your mind, like some freaking Jedi.” Benji declared, a nervous edge in his voice. “It usually seems to entertain you two, so why don’t you give that a try instead, yeah?”

“ _He’s right,_ ” Luther stated, his gravelly voice resounding in Ilsa’s right ear. “ _We might still need Benji around. He can, occasionally, be quite useful in a pinch._ ”

“Wow, thanks, Luther,” Benji said, sounding quite unimpressed with his friend.

Luther ignored him. “ _While you guys get on that, I’ll try to actually be useful and find a way to get you out of there._ ”

“ _That’s what I’ve been trying to do too, before you guys so rudely interrupted me. It’s not like Ilsa and I can’t keep it in our pants_ ,” Ethan complained, sounding far too blasé about the insinuation.

“ _The number of times either Benji, Brandt, or I have walked in on you two doing anything else but talking, kind of suggests otherwise, my guy._ ”

Ethan grunted. “ _Fine. But it’s also not our fault neither of you can seem to respect a closed door_.”

“ _There’s also a reason most doors come with a lock, you know._ ”

Eyes still closed, Ilsa’s lips twitched in a half-smile. “We’re mostly too busy with more important things, to waste time with something insignificant as a lock. It’s not like you guys usually give us much time to...catch up. You just really need to work on your timing, is all.”

Benji sputtered, and even with her eyes closed, she knew his ears were turning red.

In her ear, Luther groaned. “ _I’m sure we can all agree that we’re happy to get a week off after this._ ”

“ _Not having to see your handsome mug for a week sounds like bliss, yes._ ” Ethan agreed, jokingly.

“ _Right back at ya, man._ ”

“So, do you guys have any plans for your vacation? I think I’m just gonna lock myself in a room with my computer and every single new video game I can find.” Benji interjected, quite obviously desperate for a change of topic.

“ _If staring at a screen 20 hours a day and shooting imaginary things makes you happy, who am I to judge,_ ” Luther said. “ _But I’m just gonna get my boat, enough beer and steaks to last a while and then I’m gonna get lost on the water, with no other soul in sight._ ”

When no reply from the other two team members was forthcoming, Benji carefully dared to ask, “What about you guys? Any plans?”

“You don’t want to know what we have planned, Benji. Your ears are still red,” Ilsa said, drily, waiting for a reaction from her accidental, and hopefully short-term, roommate. She wasn’t disappointed when he began sputtering at her again, babbling nonsensically to cover his embarrassment. Oh, he was just too easy, sometimes.

“ _Relax, Benji_ ,” Ethan laughed in her ear. “ _She’s just messing with you_.”

“ _What, like you don’t plan to do the nasty as soon as you’re alone on a deserted island in the Caribbean somewhere?_ ”

“ _Luther_! Please don’t, I have enough images I didn’t ask for and will never get rid off again, stuck in my head, as it is.” Benji moaned, covering his eyes with his hands as if he could ward off said mental images with that action alone.

Ilsa chuckled, enjoying his plight. _Oh, being stuck in tiny spaces really did turn her a bit devilish, didn’t it? Apparently, her mother had been right about that, what seemed like ages ago_.

“ _Did you tell him about our plans, Ilsa?_ ” Ethan asked, voice mischievous, interrupting her thoughts.

“I just assumed you had,” she answered, voice straight. “But I have to say, I’m quite looking forward to spending _quality time_ with you on that island, Mr. Hunt.”

“ _So am I, Ms. Faust. I hope you’ll bring that cute little bikini number._ ” He paused for dramatic effect. “ _Then again, I guess I wouldn’t be mad if you didn’t bring anything at all. It is a deserted island, after all._ ”

She thought she heard Benji sob.

 

*

 

“ _Please_ tell me, how some of the best IMF agents I’ve ever known, ended up stuck in a cave for 7 hours?” William Brandt asked, arms crossed over his chest, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows, an unimpressed eyebrow raised at them.

Ilsa mirrored his stance and lifted a just as unimpressed eyebrow at the other Brit in the group.

Not meeting either of their eyes, Benji mumbled something under his breath.

“What was that? You gotta speak up, Benji.” Brandt said, sounding properly serious, but Ilsa saw his lips twitch, just for a second.

“I said, it was my fault.” He ignored her smug ‘ _Ah-hah_ ’ and carried on as if she’d never interrupted him in the first place. “I tripped over the wire and set off the old dynamite still leftover from the treasure hunters who came looking for gold years ago. Apparently, they thought it funny to leave a trap for whoever came after them.”

“But you weren’t looking for gold.”

Benji rolled his eyes, apparently over his embarrassment. “Obviously not. We were looking for a device that could jam certain radio frequencies, like the ones used by the police, or certain other important government agencies, for example. It had been stashed in the cave system.”

“Can I at least assume you found it?”

“What kind of question is that?” Now, Benji just sounded indignant. “Of course, we bloody did.”

Brandt’s serious facade broke down and he grinned at his friend. “I know you did, Benji. Despite you not being the Batman, I know I can count on you.”

Benji’s shoulders sagged. “Okay, who told you I said that?” He turned and gave Ilsa a look.

Raising her hands in half-hearted defense, she shook her head. “Wasn’t me.”

“Your boyfriend then? So you’ll have something to laugh about on that deserted island of yours?”

Ilsa bit her lip, trying hard not to laugh. About to deny his accusation, she was interrupted by the door to the meeting room opening. The person in question, followed by the last quarter of their team, stepped inside. “Wasn’t me either, buddy,” he stated, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. “Luther just thought it funny to figure out which comic book character that would make the rest of us.”

“Oh, _hah, hah_ ,” Benji said, apparently not finding it funny at all.

The rest of the team broke into laughter, and eventually, Benji joined them.

Clapping into his hands, after they all had sneakily gotten rid of the tears of laughter in their eyes, Brandt announced, “You all better be gone in the next three minutes, or I’m going to change my mind about that vacation time of yours.”

“Ooh, that’s my cue. Bye, guys. Hopefully, see you in a week and not a second before.” With that, Benji was gone. Luther shook his head and merely waved at them, before he, too, was gone.

Ilsa and Ethan were just about to step through the door as well, just as Brandt called after them. “Oh, hey, you gotta tell me if you guys enjoyed the cabin I recommended. It’s a great area to go rock climbing and mountain biking in!”

“We will, thanks, Brandt!” Ethan said, and slung his arm over Ilsa’s shoulders, gently steering her out the door. Best make a quick getaway before the world decided it needed them to save it again.

“How long do you think Benji will believe that deserted island story?” Ilsa asked, slinging her own arm around his hips and hooking her thumb in his belt loop.

“As long as we can make him,” Ethan grinned at her, goofy and playful, and she returned the smile, happy to get to spend the next six days with him, without danger constantly breathing down their necks.

“I knew there was a reason why I love you.”

He pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “Right back at you.”

And despite having just spent seven hours stuck in a mountain, the Canadian Rocky Mountains never sounded so tempting to her before.

  
  



End file.
